Maharashtra, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (January 17, 2025): Four devotees were killed and 11 others injured when a jeep rammed into a tractor trolley carrying sugarcane at Tambulgota Phata on the Gangapur-Vaijapur road late Wednesday. The accident occurred around 10 p.m. under the jurisdiction of Shillegaon police station.
The deceased were identified as six-month-old Vaidik Shyamshetty, Akshita Gadkunuri, 21, Premlata Shyamshetty, 58, and Prasanna Lakshmi, 45.
The victims were part of a group of 14 pilgrims from Hyderabad who had visited Shirdi and other religious sites, including the Verul Caves and Grishneshwar Temple, earlier in the day. They were returning to Shirdi in a jeep with registration number MH17 BD 1897 when it collided with a tractor trolley, MH20 FU 2633, loaded with sugarcane near Tambulgota Phata.
Gangapur police officials R.I. Shaikh and Praveen Pradhan, returning from a patrol near Mahalgaon, witnessed the incident. They transported the injured to the sub-district hospital in Gangapur using a police jeep. Doctors there declared four victims dead upon arrival.
First aid was provided to the injured by Dr. Dnyaneshwar Chavan and medical staff, including Vishal Suryavanshi, Balu Ghodke, and Sheetal Udwant. The injured were later shifted to a private hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for further treatment.